Earthborn, the fifth and final book of Orson Scott Card's Homecoming Saga is a fictional study of personality and religion, set in a far future version of Earth where humanity is struggling to come to terms with their own history and their place in the universe.

Earthborn starts from the narrative of Akma, the first son of an outcast priest called Akmaro whose family is held in captivity by a tribe of humanity called the Elemaki. The story follows Akma and his sister's humiliation at the hands of his oppressors, and introduces the figure of Didul, one of the sons of his oppressors.

Elsewhere, the free tribe of humanity, the Nafari, are ruled over by the wise King Motiak, whose youngest children Mon and Edhadeya start exhibiting rare abilities. Edhadeya experiences True Dreams (or visions) of the enslaved Akma and his family, and Mon's Truthsense allows him to detect the truth of the vision. On their insistence, King Motiak sends out a rescue party to save Akma and his family.

Unknown to the different tribes of humanity, high above the Earth is the spaceship The Basilica, populated with the computer program called the Oversoul and the human Starmaster, a woman called Shedemai. These figures have been guiding the development of humanity for centuries, but themselves are ignorant of their ultimate mission, knowing only that the Basilica and the Oversoul were created by the keeper of Earth, a god-like being whom the tribes of humanity and the other sentient species of Earth worship as a Deity. Shedemai and the Oversoul decide to interfere with the supposed will of the Keeper of Earth and guide the rescue party to a different tribe of humanity, the Zenifi, and these people are brought back to the Nafari where they must acclimate to living with the other sentient species, the Earth People and the winged Sky People.

The Keeper of Earth sends True Dreams to more of the characters, encouraging Akma's father to convert his oppressors, and guiding King Motiak to study the history of the humans on Earth. Once the oppressors of the family of Akma are converted, Akma's father leads them to the land of the Nafari, led by True Dreams. Here the different groups try to live together, but the increasing jealousy and prejudice of Akma causes religious strife between the Nafari and the Zenifi as he urges them to throw out the Earth People who were once used to oppress his family.

Shedemai the Starmaster returns to the Earth in the guise of a school teacher to avert the oncoming civil war, and herself preaches the original teachings of the Keeper of the Earth. As the divisions in society escalate, and Akma moves further and further away from his family, the Keeper of Earth intervenes and sends Shedemai a dream detailing what she must do. In the final showdown between the two camps (Akma's Ancient Ways movement and King Motiak's Houses of the Kept) the Keeper reveals its will for humanity, using Shedemai's advanced technology to do so, and Akma is forced to examine his life and actions in the light of this plan.